


Pokemon: The Power of Many

by NotTheOtherGuy



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/F, F/M, M/M, Maybe One Death, No Lesbians Die, Other, Pokemon Journey, Romance, Useless Lesbians
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-06-19 04:27:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15502287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotTheOtherGuy/pseuds/NotTheOtherGuy
Summary: Every trainer can claim they've met a legendary Pokemon. Fewer can say they've ridden on one. But only Selena O'Dell can say she's seen a baby legendary. Why? Because she's just been given one. And now it's her job to keep it safe, and save the world.Y'know. Normal Trainer stuff.





	Pokemon: The Power of Many

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

_Ker-Splash!_

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

_Ker-Splash!_

_Drip. Drip. Drip_

_Ker-_

**SPLASH!**

Selena O’Dell tasted saltwater as the wave crashed against her, soaking the pier she was standing on even further, seawater mixing with rainwater. Despite the occasional wave crashing against her, she stayed rigid on the end of the pier, Hyper Rod still clutched between her black fingerless gloves. They were worn down to the point that the fingers had fallen off, but Selena couldn’t bring herself to buy new ones. They were just too comfortable to replace. Although that could be said about her entire outfit, and most of her wardrobe in general. Her hat, once black with a red brim and a red Pokéball symbol on the front, had faded to a dull grey and pink combo, and was more than worn in a few places. Her jeans were tattered and had large holes in them, showing their age and wear despite being soaked to the bone, and her sneakers had so many holes, they were retaining water at this point. Her burgundy hoodie was the only thing to have stood the test of time, and was still as warm and comfortable as the day she got it. Probably lined with wool from a herd of Mareep. She hadn’t really bothered to check.

She blinked twice, sighed, and moved her bobber a little to the left.

“ _All of this for a Shiny Magikarp._ ” Selena thought to herself, shaking her head a few times in hopes of getting the rain to stop dripping off the brim. It didn’t. Really, she wasn’t in it for the Magikarp itself. It was just that the last time she was in Johto, Team Flare had decided to set up camp at the Lake of Rage. Now, by no means were they a problem, but by the time Selena was finished with them any wild Red Gyarados were long gone, and her Johto vacation was over. (Not that her Pokémon complained much. They enjoyed the battle, and the water. Well, save for her Blitzle. Poor guy hated water, and was always a brat about it.) So here she was, at some godawful hour of the morning, fishing in a monsoon for the slim chance at the oh-so-rare golden Magikarp, which would lead her to a Red Gyarados.

Four hours of fishing, and still nothing.

Still. It was better than hearing Molly blab on to her boyfriend about the ruins she’d visited with her dad the month before. She had nothing against Molly, but when you’re hearing it for the third time, it got a little old. Well, that and Molly’s Teddiursa needed to be bathed, and to do that without washing off the honey on it’s paws was a job and a half. So yeah. She was fishing.

**_KER-SPLISH_!**

Selena frowned, reeling in her rod in seconds. That was funny, she hadn’t caught anything. So where had that splash-

Oh.

“Coach, what are you doing here? I thought you were helping Molly with Chewie.” Selena asked as she put the rod down onto the pier, look down at the Pokémon standing in front of her. He was equally soaked as she was, but thanks to his bright orange fur he stood out in the storm much more than his trainer, taking a cross-armed stance as he landed on the pier. The Buizel met his trainer’s gaze without hesitation, a glint of defiance in his eyes.

“Bui!” As if to respond, the Pokémon pointed out toward the raging waters, and then to her now-discarded fishing rod. Or possibly the railing. Selena wasn’t sure.

“You were…looking for a shiny Magikarp too? You do any better?” Selena guessed. Coach, in response, gave Selena a “so-so” gesture with one paw before pointing off to the left again with much more intensity. Selena briefly glanced to the left, and then shrugged as she looked back at Coach again. Nothing there, just the beach that separated the two piers.

“…You’re saying I should fish off the other pier instead?” Selena guessed. Coach facepalmed and gave off a heavy, exasperated sigh, his tail waving back and forth erratically and kicking up water.

“Bui! Bui-Bui!” Coach leapt up, grabbing Selena by her face, bringing her down to half-bent over position, making her take a longer look at the beach again. And that’s when she saw it. A crater in the beach that had some kind of Pokémon thrashing around in it. The hell? She’d looked at that beach not too minutes ago, and it was fine. How could she miss something that size crashing down?

…Maybe she needed more sleep.

“Message received, bud. Go check for anything that landed in the bay, alright?” Selena added, picking up her equally soaked backpack, folding her fishing rod and tossing it in. Coach nodded, and backflipped back into the water without another word.  Selena ran up to the railing and heaved herself over it without a second thought, only to regret it once she landed on the beach.

“ _Alright, dumb idea. Walk it off_.” She grunted, ignoring the screaming pain in her knees as she sprinted down the beach. Stretching and cardio would have helped. Taking the stairs about five feet from where she had hopped the railing? Probably would have been even better. As she ran over, she tried convincing herself that what was happening was nothing special. It was probably just a beached Wailmer again. Or a Mantine launched by a rogue wave. Or just, y’know. A schooled Wishiwashi. Certainly nothing out of the ordinary. She’d just survey the situation and help them back into-

“By the Trio…”

Selena’s eyes opened wide as she reached the side of the crater.

A Lugia had landed on the beach. A freaking **LUGIA**. Same massive wingspan, same long neck, and the massive blue plates on its back, which were folding inward. The hell? Lugia was native to the Orange Islands. What was it doing in Hoenn? Selena shook her head and jumped into the crater, sliding down to cradle the Pokémon’s huge head and listening closely. Okay, still breathing. The breathing was ragged and erratic, sure. But still breathing.

“Hey! HEY! Wake up! You’re fine!” What exactly do you say to a crashed legendary? Selena was improvising as she dug around in her bag, giving the massive Pokémon’s head a shake now and then. C’mon, where was it? It hadn’t been THAT long since she had been in a battle…

“ _Trainer_ …” Selena paused, hearing a feminine, ethereal voice in her head. She slowly turned her gaze from her bag, to the Lugia, and then back again. The Pokémon just talked in her head.

…Wait. Lugia was part Psychic Type. Psychics could do that.

“Just give me ten seconds, sugarbean. Then you can keep talking at me, alright?” She gave the Lugia a gentle pat on the head, finally pulling out an Energy Root. It was a little old, and had some leftover honey on it, but it was still good. She put it in the Lugia’s mouth, holding her breath as she listened to it chew. The majestic beast seemed to recover just enough, breathing becoming steadier as it lifted its head and looked at Selena.

“ _I am forever in your debt, Trainer. But you must make haste and listen to my words._ ”

“I mean…don’t exactly have a choice, do I? What with you talking in my head and all that.” Selena interjected, getting a look from the legendary that seemed it was saying “Shut up, **please**.” to the trainer, while still being polite.

“…Sorry.” Selena apologized, hands going behind her back as Coach suddenly launched himself out of water. He ended up landing on the edge of the crater, just behind Selena. He shook his head and shrugged, before realizing exactly _what_ his trainer was standing beside. He quickly took a few steps back and, mirroring his trainer, put his paws behind his back.

The Lugia sighed, and resumed speaking shortly.

“ _As I said. Listen to my words Selena O’Dell, and heed them, for I have not much time.  Now, you have encountered several Pokémon that you humans call “legendary” over your years as a trainer, correct?_ ” The Lugia asked, to which Selena nodded…after thinking it over of course. Sure, there had been Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza during that whole kerfuffle with Teams Magma and Aqua. And Giratina had been a rather weird encounter, considering someone else had summoned Regigiags for some twisted fight night. She’d had her Misdreavus and Electrode work together to blow the machine causing their rage to smithereens, which quickly halted the possibly universe-destroying brawl. And then the third time had been just flat out odd. She’d been walking in a forest in Orre, and there was a Mewtwo and a Cresselia just…sitting there. Sharing a fallen tree that lay beside a calm pond, perhaps meditating. And then there was that whole “Mirage” Pokémon incident, which she doubted would count.

“I’d say I’ve encountered an abnormal, number yes.” Selena kept the answer as short as she dared, watching as the majestic legendary forced itself back up from a laying position, it’s breathing almost…heavy? Strained? Laboured! That was it!

“ _These encounters are no coincidence, dear trainer. From the day your journey began, your destiny has been intertwined with that of the Pokémon that control the forces of nature. The “legendaries” as you would put it._ ” Yeah, because that totally wasn’t completely vague and enlightening. Alright, so she had met a few legendaries in her time. It didn’t mean she was anything special, right?

“ _Trainer, I dub thee to be an Aura Guardian, and entrust you with something extremely special to me. Will you accept this burden?”_

Selena took a long, hard look at herself as she pondered the question. On the one hand…okay, yeah. She’d saved the world maybe…twice? Give or take. She had some powerful Pokémon, and battled some legendaries in her time. But on the other hand, she hadn’t gone for any league titles or conquered Battle Frontiers in a long time. As much as she hated the word, Selena would describe herself as being very _domestic_ over the past year and a half. And besides. What constituted her as special from any other trainer who ran into legendaries, battled them, and-

Selena stopped her train of though, realizing that this Lugia was right. All she was doing was trying to rationalize _not_ getting involved. 

“I’ll accept the burden. But what’s an Aura Guardian? What’s happening? What’s so important that you trust some trainer?”

At her answer, the Lugia finally raised one massive wing, finally showing off what she was hiding underneath. Selena gasped, Coach gasped, and any wild Pokémon in the relative area probably gasped. What the legendary hid had never been seen before. It wasn’t even theorized to exist, as it was thought Legendary Pokémon were immortal.

There was a baby Lugia, nestled up against it’s parent. Freshly hatched, by the sight of it. No larger than a Pidgey, and still somehow sleeping peacefully.

“…You’re kidding me. I can’t just-”

“ _An evil that was thought sealed away forever has risen, and is sowing the seeds for the downfall of the world. My child is the only hope for the future, and an Aura Guardian must raise her to become a savoir and warrior. Trainer…this burden must fall upon you._ ”

Selena paled, of course, but moved forward at the legendary’s behest, gently reaching out to give the baby Lugia a gentle pat on the head. It seemed to respond positively, nuzzling into her hand…only to ball up at the next thunderclap.

“And this won’t be easy, by any means. I’m going to guess people with less than pure intentions will want to catch this little bundle of adorableness and use it for evil. Which probably means…” Selena trailed off, her choice briefly changing to an adorable tone as tried to tickle the baby’s tummy.

“ _You should resume travel, and make haste in your departure. I already fear for my child’s life, and will try to draw my pursuers away from this place.”_ The Lugia confirmed with a nod, forcing itself back up to full height, and spreading its mighty wings. As it did so, Selena moved forward and swaddled the baby Lugia in her hoodie, trying to protect it from the rain and keep it relatively sleeping.

“Hey, wait! Where am I supposed to go!?” Selena held the baby Pokémon close to her chest, squinting as the wet sand started kicking up from the Lugia’s flapping wings.

“ _Trust your heart, trainer. You will find a path and a purpose._ ”

With another thunderous flap of its wings, The Lugia took off, leaving the girl, the Buizel and the baby Pokémon alone on the rain-soaked beach.

“We should probably go home and make a plan. Right?” Selena asked after a few moments of silence, trying to think of what to do next.

Coach just shrugged.

The baby Lugia, however, took the opportunity to start crying.

* * *

 

“…And we waited there for three days afterward. I had Flaaffy repeat the ritual twice more, and nothing.”

“Huh. That’s worrying. Usually the Ritual of Thunder would summon at least one other Electric Legendary or Mythical, if not Raikou itself.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying, Max! Something is really wrong he-”

**BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!**

Molly sighed and groaned, craning her neck to listen carefully…

“C’mon Molly! Got a bit of an emergency here!”

Molly groaned and blew the screen a kiss.

“Sorry Max, that’s my roommate. No doubt neck-deep in something yet again. Call me back after you finish up at Sky Pillar?”

“I’ll stop by. Fair?” Max proposed, adjusting his glasses.

Molly nodded and logged off, running her hands through her light brown locks as she sighed. She had better not have gotten into a 6 on 1 Trainer battle with Team Snagem again…

**BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!**

“I’m coming! Hold your Heatrans!” Molly hollered as she stomped over to the door, flinging it open. Selena barrelled past her into the kitchen, leaving Molly to scoff and lock the door behind her roommate.

“Selena, we’ve talked about this, right? We’ve left a spare key under-”

Molly stopped, hearing a gentler knock at the door. She opened it to find Coach on the other side, having thankfully shaken himself bone dry. Coach just shrugged when Molly gave him an apologetic look and entered. Wasn’t the first time he was locked out, wasn’t going to be the last time. It was just a shame he was too big to get through the dog door, or this wouldn’t be a problem.

“Can you go get Chewie out of the bath, Coach? I need to stop Selena from tearing the kitchen apart.”

Coach, albeit reluctantly, nodded that he could do that for Molly. Not that he’d like it. He then stalked off to the bathroom down the hall, out of sight.

* * *

 

“Selena, what in the hell has gotten into you?” Molly asked as she entered the kitchen. Selena didn’t answer at first, instead mixing up both Psychic and Flying Pokémon food into a bowl, crushing it into a paste.

“Look, it’s a weird story that you’ll never believe. So, in short, check what’s sitting in Chewie’s high chair.” Selena replied, not looking up from her task save for a single gesture over her shoulder with a spoon. Molly turned, and her jaw dropped.

“Is that…?”

“Yeah.”

“So that means you saw-”

“ _Yeah_.

“And that’s-”

“Its baby. I don’t think I’ve ever even _heard_ of a baby legendary before.” Selena confirmed, walking over to the wailing pint-sized legendary that was currently occupying Chewie’s high chair and sticking a spoonful of mushed Poke-Food into it’s mouth. The Lugia seemed to freeze as it bit down on the spoon, clearly puzzled, only to start eating a few seconds later. Selena breathed a sigh of relief and continued feeding.

“They’re not supposed to exist. The-the last recorded sighting of a mythical or legendary with child was a Volcanion some two hundred years ago! And it jus-just entrusted it to you?” Molly asked, hiccupping with excitement. 

“More or less. It said some sort of evil was coming. And it dubbed me something called an “Aura Guardian”? You know what that means?” Molly was the daughter of Spencer Hale, after all. IF anyone knew what that title meant, it would be her.

Molly opened and closed her mouth a few times, raised a finger, started up the coffee pot, and then stalked out of the room.

“She’s going to go do some research.” Selena stated to her pint-sized companion. The Lugia didn’t reply, as it was still eating. She was glad she made a triple batch for the little guy. Pretty soon, it would need a name. All legendaries were technically genderless, but it doesn’t mean she couldn’t name it what she wanted.

“I’m going to do some research!” Molly yelled out from the living room, the clacking from her mechanical keyboard echoing throughout the apartment. Selena gave the Lugia a “see?” look before scooping more food onto the spoon. Again, no response.

A few minutes later a Teddiursa ran through the kitchen, thankfully bone dry. It hopped up onto the counter and pulled out a Dinosaur King mug, pouring the now-hot coffee into said mug, adding sugar and a touch of its own honey into the mix. Then, it ran off to the living room to join Molly.

_Huh. That’s new. Wonder how long it took Molly to train him to do that._

Lugia then took the opportunity to burp loudly, signaling it was done eating. Selena took a moment to wipe her face clean of burped-up food before lifting Lugia up into her arms again, starting to bounce it gently. Her hoodie, crumpled up in the high chair, was somehow bone dry again.

“Mols! I’ll be in my room if you need me!” Selena shouted as she put the dishes in the sink, bumping closed the cupboards she’d left open during her meal prep.

“Your room? What are you gonna do in there?”

The number of sarcastic, funny, or lewd responses that went through Selena’s head were about the same as the number discovered Pokémon. But considering Molly was going to fill her in on just what the hell she was in for, it was better that she didn’t.

“Packing!”

* * *

 

Let’s see…

She had her Pokégear, Pokétch, PokéNav, her Pokéblock and Poffin cases, and a mildly-outdated Pokédex.

Wallet with Trainer IDs, along with a couple pictures. Most were of her Pokémon, a few were of her winning a handful of Championships (and the Kanto Battle Frontier), and finally there was one of her on the day she caught her first Pokémon. Bright eyed, fresh faced, a band-aid on her face, and a Mudkip riding on her shoulder. She had a few charge cards, and a driver’s licence if things seriously went south.

A few spare changes of clothes, a spare set of shoes, a pair of swim trunks, and sunglasses. Not to mention a button-up shirt and a waistcoat. Just in case a formal event came up. Because hey, you never know. Gloves and a beanie for colder climates.

She’d added her Pokéball belt to her current wardrobe (three loops on either hip for ease of access), along with a rebreather for any underwater adventures and roller skates. Oh, and Pokéballs. Lots of Pokéballs. Mostly Great, Ultra, and Premier Balls that had been left gathering dust under her bed.

Lastly, a good amount of Pokémon food for baby Lugia. Sure, it’d need prep every time, but that wouldn’t be too hard.

Crazy what you could fit in your backpack, eh?

Selena’s room had become even more of a mess than usual in the process of packing said backpack, and the baby Lugia had taken up a perch on Selena’s bed in the half hour it had taken. It had bunched up the sheets like a nest, covering itself with the duvet so that only its head stood out.

Coach had returned from the bathroom partway through the process, clearly having gotten soaked by Chewie while taking him out of the bath. He was seated at the foot of the bed, arms crossed, half asleep.

“Alright, alright. Uhm…Coach! Do you want to come along on this journey? You were there as a witness, after all.”

The Buizel said nothing, and his Lure Ball was tossed into her outstretched hands moments later. Selena grinned and pulled Coach into a quick hug on her next pass around her room. Lugia would be a non-combatant, so she’d have coach and five other Pokémon to fight with. What those five were remained to be seen. Well, four. She knew one who’d already be in.

“Can either of you think of anything else I need?”

Selena’s door was kicked open not even a single second after she stopped speaking, and Molly ran into the room.

Oh, yeah. She needed information, and a goddamn clue of where to go.

“I’m going to assume you’ve finished your research, and you have something for me.” Selena guessed, swaddling Lugia in the duvet so that she could sit on the bed.

“I actually finished about fifteen minutes ago, but I got a phone call from Dad. He wants me to come home for an emergency expedition, so I guess we’ll both be heading out. You up for rent?” Molly asked, brushing clothes aside so she could sit on the computer chair.

“I’ll pay two months.” Selena confirmed, opening her PokéNav to set aside the funds.

“Thanks. As for you being dubbed an Aura Guardian? That’s sort of a deep rabbit hole to go down, but the gist is that being given that title by a Legendary is a huge deal. Traditionally, the title was bestowed by royalty onto trainers hundreds and hundreds of years ago. Usually the title was given to strong trainers or to those who showed control of Aura, hence the name. For example, Sir Aaron of Cameran Palace. I don’t think I need to explain Aura, do I?”

Selena shook her head. She’d fought against Lucarios and Riolus that knew Aura Sphere before. Kinda like a poor man’s Kamehameha.

“Good. Now, I took another look at some of your televised battles. Championships, League Battles, that one all-Psychic double battle thing you did last year. You…don’t have any Aura powers. Which means we’re going with what I’ve found to be the alternate definition of Aura Guardian. Simply put, the title means that a Legendary Pokémon trusts you with a monumentally important task. In this case, raising its child.” Molly paused, taking a long swing from her coffee mug.

“From what I can find, this only happens in times of crisis. The last two occasions recorded in history where trainers were dubbed Aura Guardians by legendaries both predate digital history. One occasion was an unnamed trainer and his Pikachu being tasked with defeating an extremely powerful Spiritomb. The other was whomever was able to seal away Hoopa the first time it was on a rampage. Which Legendary dubbed them as such and how has been lost to time, but it was confirmed it was Pokémon that gave them their purpose.”

“Molly, you know I genuinely love hearing your history lessons, but what does this all mean for me? Like, I now recognize how rare this is, but I still don’t have a clue about what I need to do.” Selena finally interjected, putting a hand on her roommate’s leg to sort of jolt her out of her exposition dump.

“Basically, you better guard that baby Lugia with your life.”

“Argent.”

“Her name is Argent. Lugias were originally thought to be silver, and Argent reflects that.” Selena said with a smile, gently rubbing the head of the now-sleeping legendary bird.

Molly shook her head and rolled her eyes before continuing.

“Look, I’m no scholar on Aura, so I’m going to refer you to a professional. He was last seen in Alto Mare in Johto, so you’ll have to find a way to get there. After that…I can’t help you.” Molly finished with a shrug and threw up her hands.

“Molly, you’ve done great. Hell, you gave me a starting point after I grab some Pokémon. I can’t thank you enough. I’d stay and chat, but I bought a bus ticket to Littleroot that leaves in twenty.” The two exchanged a brief hug before Selena returned Coach to his Pokéball, grabbed her backpack, and wrapped Argent up in a much smaller blanket.

“I sent the name of the expert to your Pokétch. Ask around Alto Mare, and you should be able to find him.” Molly followed Selena out of the room, watching as Selena’s eyebrows furrowed. She mast have seen the expert’s-

“...This can’t be his name. Nobody has a name like that.” Selena stated flatly, staring at her Pokétch intently.

“I’d try not to pronounce his name, if I were you. For all we know, it’s an alias." Molly asked, briefly holding Argent in her arms while Selena put her shoes on again.

“Yup. And Molly? If shit really is going down and something is coming after the legendaries …stay safe. Take Chewie, Flaaffy, Kingdra. Take em all with ya, yeah?” Molly nodded in answer, already making plans in her head. No doubt she’d bring lots of food. Chewie was due to evolve any day now…

“Same to you Sel. No trying to fistfight your Breloom this time!”

Selena laughed her way out the door, and somehow managed to get the last word.

“I was TRAINING him! Better than having him spar with Patch!”

Molly rolled her eyes and locked the door behind Selena. Now, she had packing of her own to do….

* * *

 

“Rare occasion I get riders this late at night. In a hurry?” The bus driver looked like he’d had two or three energy drinks too many and too little sleep. But hey, at least he was attentive and ready to drive.

“Something like that.” Selena gave a courtesy smile to the driver before making a beeline for the backseat of the bus. Only a handful of sleeping trainers and salarymen populated the bus at this hour, and none paid her any many. Nor did anyone complain when she took the backseat, resting her head against the window. Argent slept peacefully in her lap, thankfully hidden by the blanket. The only signs of an abnormal Pokémon resting her arms was the white beat sticking out. Even then, she’d be able to pass Argent off as a Togekiss.

After a few minutes of the bus moving down the road, Selena did manage to find sleep. But not before a haunting thought passed through her mind. A terrifying thing to think about, truly.

What in the world could pose a threat to _multiple_ legendaries, let alone one?

 

**Author's Note:**

> This shit is my first completed chapter in about three goddamn years. Be nice.


End file.
